Red Dawson's DeKon Chevy Monza 1001

[bry3500]

Wow - what happened exactly?

[bry3500]

After the rebuild - John Briggs
[video=youtube;GSZ8Ub1jbwE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSZ8Ub1jbwE[/video]

[John McKechnie]

Bry- saw it on TV at the time .
His car went suddenly off the track- the driver - hit a ditch ( I think) and rolled and just kept rolling.
It was shocking.

[bry3500]

Bry- saw it on TV at the time .
His car went suddenly off the track- the driver may have had a medical event- hit a ditch ( I think) and rolled and just kept rolling.
It was shocking.
If I am wrong or out of line here,let me know and I will correct this.

Cbeers John - I have never seen photos of that before

[Grant Ellwood]

Bry- saw it on TV at the time .
His car went suddenly off the track- the driver may have had a medical event- hit a ditch ( I think) and rolled and just kept rolling.
It was shocking.
If I am wrong or out of line here,let me know and I will correct this.

Hi John, I was sitting in the stand near the sweeper and saw that crash. My memory is pretty rusty but I think Red just over steered coming out of the corner and bolted off to the inside of the track where there were a few drainage ditches and nosed in and launched.
I also recall Neville Brickley having a similar incident coming out of the esses at another event. The Manfeild organizers did a lot of work to try to keep on top of drainage problems, just an unfortunate set of circumstances for those two drivers. I hadn't heard of Red having a medical event but I'm sure it's possible. Dennis Marwood and other contemporaries would mostly likely know but whatever the cause it certainly was a sad end to Red's career.

[Steve Holmes]

Hi Grant, I believe your recollection is correct. Magazine reports from the time say Red simply lost traction exiting the Sweeper and spun into the infield. Its a quirk of the Manfeild Sweeper, and has happened to many since then, that when a car breaks traction on hard acceleration, can spun into the infield. In the case of Dawson, had that drain not been there he likely would have spun around a few times, come to rest, grabbed first gear and rejoined the action.

The track was only a couple of years old at the time, and I guess the theory was that a drain on the infield should be safe from any cars finding it. It was thankfully later filled in.

[seaqnmac27]

Photos and article from MotorAction

[seaqnmac27]

[seaqnmac27]

That was race 2, then in race 3, this happened.

[seaqnmac27]

[aussiemonza]

Speaking with Jim Richards, he has a recollection that Bill Minty was the guy looking after the Monza and did the rebuild. Does anyone know the whereabouts of Bill Minty?

[John McKechnie]

Rowan,-
There is a regular on our threads who has Bill Mintys Bathurst Monaro.
He has been in touch with him recently, I will PM you with details

[aussiemonza]

Rowan,-
There is a regular on our threads who has Bill Mintys Bathurst Monaro.
He has been in touch with him recently, I will PM you with details

Thanks, CCR

[Steve Holmes]

My thanks to Warwick Clayton for the collection of photos that follows:

[Steve Holmes]

From the Monza's New Zealand debut at Bay Park, 1975.

[Steve Holmes]

[Steve Holmes]

[Steve Holmes]

[Steve Holmes]

This is an interesting shot showing a paint scheme I'd not seen on this car before, with the white nose. I'm assuming this is late in the 1975/76 season.

[John McKechnie]

Steve- that is the same colour scheme and stickers as in Motorman June 1976-page 20.
Posted that-#15 here.